The Amazonian Witch
by PenelopeJess
Summary: The journey of Samsara to Shota. Based on the twitter RP account @amazonianwitch. Storylines that are not role-played will be linked in a tweet for plot process purposes. Includes setting & theme from "Once Upon a Time". Any other character included is dependent on interaction via twitter RP
1. 01 The Atma Dagger

**Author's Note: (How it all begin) **It started off with a few silly RP rounds with a couple of friends on twitter. Then it became exciting, so I decided to make an RP account for it, and then one thing led to the other. Why inclusion of OUAT characters, you ask? I love the show, and there are just some amazing RP/Parody accounts out there. If anyone's interested, I can/will include the other RP accounts mine interacts with ;)

Fair warning: Many accounts that I'd interacted with are at least part parody, mine included. Humour is part of the package. I try to write the characters as close to the show and as close to how it is portrayed on the twitter accounts as possible.

This chapter is an introduction of how it all began, not RP'd. #ItIsAllInMyHead

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She twirled the Atma dagger absent-mindedly, her thoughts lingering back to the moment she buried her weapon into the back of the man who took her father's life. That moment of satisfaction was glorious, yet short lived. Karina was right-revenge doesn't heal anything. But least it granted her the rightful honour to bring justice to her father's death. Her grip around the dagger tightened at the regret of never knowing her mother's assailant-she knew just exactly what happened to women captured by the cannibals. Samsara shut her eyes tight, willing the thoughts away. Sometimes, ignorance _is _bliss.

A shadow moved beside her and she caught the glimpse of Karina from her peripheral vision. She draw in a deep breath and adjusted her stance, expecting her leader to move closer. But Karina stayed a safe distance behind, leaving Samsara plenty of personal space.

"It's time," Karina said softly.

The blonde amazon dipped her head and let out an inaudible sigh. She knew exactly what Karina meant-to let go.

"I can't." she said. "I don't..."

Sensing Karina nearing, she stood up and moved away just as the brunette was about to lay a hand on her shoulder. Without looking back, Samsara slid her knife into a boot and the Atma dagger into her belt loop.

"We are having goat tonight." Karina informed. She has seen this behaviour one too many times, and it was best to let the amazon be. Samsara nodded wordlessly and exited the cave. She needed fresh air and Karina had instructed her to dispose the Atma so it won't fall into the wrong hands-two birds, one stone.

An aimless walk led her to nothing but green fields of scattered apple trees. She stopped by one with a branch just low enough to reach for an apple. That was when the Atma dagger glowed bright green. Shielding her eyes from the blinding light with one hand, Samsara wrestled the dagger out of the belt loop. At contact, the earth shifted and swept her off her feet. With nothing to hold on to, Samsara tightened her grip around the Atma and held on as the darkness around her swirled.

Then it all stopped. The dizziness calmed and Samsara regained her senses-first of the wet grass on her back.

"What in the..." a chirpy, high pitched voice was heard. She cracked open her eyes, squinting against the sunlight. Everything looked different-for one, the trees around were much closer together. The blurry, blonde haired figure cleared and she turned just slightly to her companion. She was clad in black leather, boots, steel... Samsara's hand went straight to the knife in her boot, then lay a hand instinctively on her Atma dagger. That was when she noticed-it was gone.

She drew her weapon out without skipping a beat and leaps to her feet, glancing back and forth between the blonde and her companion-clearly a warrior.

"Where is it?" She demanded.

As though a routinized dance, the warrior placed herself in front of the blonde and held her hands up defensively. "Calm down, Samsara. We found you here," she spoke slowly. "We are just as confused as you are."

Samsara frowned and tilted her head at the two, the tip of her knife's blade aimed at the warrior steadily.

"My name is Xena," the warrior spoke, as though reading Samsara's mind. "And this is Gabrielle, an amazon, like you."

Samsara lowered her weapon slowly, eying the two up and down.

"We are from your future," Gabrielle explained, taking a cautious step towards Samsara. "Something must have happened for you to end up here. You said you lost something, what is it?"

A realization struck Xena. "It must be..."

"The Atma dagger," they both said in unison.

"It must have gotten ripped off when it transported you here." Xena explained. "We will find a shaman to return you to your time."

"Wait," Gabrielle laid a hand on Xena's arm. "Xena, what if she's sent her for a reason?"

Another voice chimed in before the warrior could answer, a voice too familiar for comfort.

"Hey, what's going on?"

Samsara turned and as their eyes met, both let out a gasp and took a battling stance. Both Xena and Gabrielle wedged themselves between the two, weapons poised. The warrior's blue eyes widen with warning and impatience, glancing from Samsara to the new comer slowly.

"Just. Calm. Down." she instructed through gritted teeth.

"Wow," Gabrielle muttered and nudged the dark warrior with an elbow without turning to her. "I never thought of the resemblance until now. Xena, could Ephiny be Samsara's descendant?"

Xena shook her head. "Possible, but unlikely. Samsara belongs to the Northern Amazon. While Amazons travel, it is too far to where Ephiny's tribe originated. This is like..."

"With you, and Meg, and-" Gabrielle started rambling off, drawing an eye-roll out from the warrior.

Samsara glances between the bantering duo and then waved her knife in the air to get their attention.

"How do you know she's not an evil shaman?"

"What?!" Ephiny exclaimed at the accusation, receiving Xena's hand on her shoulder immediately-a calming gesture. Gabrielle stepped closer, her defensive stance relaxed.

"Don't you feel it? If you calm your heart, you will know that I am right."

Samsara swallowed, taking in a few deep breaths and stole awkward glances at Ephiny before returning her gaze to Gabrielle with a firm nod.

"You're with us now, Samsara," Xena said, eyes betraying her amusement of the likeness between Samsara and Ephiny.

"Why?"

"I'm sure you are here for a reason, Samsara. And we found you for a reason, I can _feel _it." Gabrielle explained, a smile tugging at her lips.

At the mention of Samsara's name, Ephiny turned to Xena and mouthed it questioningly, eyes widened. The warrior waved a hand dismissively, an indication that Gabrielle will fill her in later.

"Besides, we know the land and it's not like you have anything else to do." Xena added with a casual shrug.

Samsara hesitated, eyes darting from amazon to warrior to amazon, then back to the warrior. Finally, she slit the knife back into its sheath.

"Fine," she said, taking a step towards them. Xena's smug smile turned into a grin and engaged Samsara to an amazon handshake. The dark haired warrior then wrapped an arm around Samsara's shoulder while the other two blonds chattered away, more likely than not about Samsara's life story.

"You'll love it. We're not a tribe, there's no hierarchy, no one to obey to, just your own morals and dignity to follow." Xena explained, leading the way with her horse in tow. "First stop, the tavern..."


	2. 02 Across the Yellow Line

**Author's Note: **Feedback/comments are welcome! Sometimes the storyline goes in a strange way (since I'm RPing with others) that I hadn't plan, but it all works out in the end anyway. You'll see. ;)

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Samsara crouched amongst the trees and looks out. As welcoming as Xena, Gabrielle and Ephiny were-especially Gabrielle-she missed home. She looks down at the small leaf she fingered mindlessly and laughed, letting it float to the ground.

_That kill wasn't enough. _She thought to herself, closing her eyes to the sound of winds weaving through the leaves. They took more than her family-they took her dignity; her life. She couldn't imagine the regret her father must have felt, unable to protect his wife and prevent his death to be witnessed by his daughter-probably as much of a regret as her not leaping out to his rescue. Her fingers crunched the cluster of leaves next to her and she lets out a breath, careful not to rouse the anger within her. In that deciding moment, Samsara made a vow to herself-she was going to walk the path of a Shaman. Karina had once seen that potential in her, but the lust for vengeance closed off that path. Perhaps Karina was right-it is her path. Destroying the cannibals physically wasn't enough; maybe, maybe she needed to destroy their spirits. _His _spirit.

A curious cloud of purple moved in from the skies and Samsara looked on curiously, scaling up a few brunches. The smoke swallowed the distant town and then disappeared, quicker than a dark cloud on a stormy day. Nothing seemed to change. Samsara squinted her eyes and looked up. No more branches to scale.

She scurried down the tree and into the communal hut, gathering three days worth of food and clothes. Just as she thought she could slip out quietly, a red-headed amazon stood in her path and looked her up and down.

"Yes?" Samsara cocked an eyebrow and swung her bag over her shoulder.

"Who are you?"

"Who are _you_?"

"You sure look like her."

"The chick with the headband?"

"She's our regent and you will not speak of her like that." the amazon snarled and drew her dagger, rousing an eye roll from Samsara.

"Move aside, child."

"I'm not a child!" she growled, crouching down to a threatening stance. "And not until you tell me who you are."

"Samsara."

"Oh," the younger amazon looked down and withdrew her dagger. "I'm Amarice," she said with a casual shrug and a sheepish smile.

"Nice to meet you, Amarice," Samsara said flatly and held out a hand. "And that dagger belongs to me."

The red-head handed the weapon over willingly, watching on with a mix of curiosity and fear as Samsara pauses briefly by the hut's entrance.

"You didn't see me," Samsara instructed before disappearing into the corner.

**STORYBROOKE****...**

The first sign that greeted her, pun intended, was a faded old board that reads "Welcome to Storybrooke." Samsara's gaze shuffled between it and the long, quiet road ahead. She tightened the hold around her bag and advanced, looking down curiously when she came right next to the yellow line spray painted across the pavement. She reached to her side and tapped the board gingerly, frowning at the material. It was similar to that of an armour. She frowned. _Why anyone would waste it on a sign?_ But with a shrug, she stepped across the yellow line.

The gravel path led her to what another would call civilization. Her dark eyes widened as she took in the architecture around her, quickly crouching behind a bush as she studied her surroundings. They were very much like a castle, except a lot...cleaner. She was just deciding that this is a very wealthy town when an almost deafening sound rung through the air. She jolted and turned towards it. An unknown object skid to a stop, the material puzzled Samsara once again. A head popped out at a child running across it and yelled. She blinked, a tiny bit of gratitude that at least they seem to speak the same language.

It zoomed off a speed greater than any traveling instrument Samsara had seen before. Then she watched on, mind juggling the options of moving forward or turning back. She glanced back a few times, eying the yellow line that she stepped over. Biting her lower lip, she watched on. Nobody has seen her yet, there was still time to decide.

This time, what looked to be a mother and child crossed the road. Short, dark hair that didn't quite matched the little boy, heels clicking along the pavement to the other side with the boy in tow. Samsara looked down at her outfit and back at theirs, realizing that she was going to stand out more than she would have wanted to.

_To stay, to go, to stay, to go... _Samsara wished there was even the tiniest flower in sight for her to mimic what village girls do when they decide on whether to accept a boy's affections. She frowned at the thought, then looked up at the skies. It was just beginning to light. If she were to get into the town undetected, it was now or never. Samsara emptied out what's left in her bag-a blue roll of cloth that she sleeps on, blanket, a towel, and the remainder of her food supply. Letting out a soft growl, she changed out of her amazon get up. Wrapping the blue cloth from behind, she crossed it in front of her and twisted the top edges and pulled them into a knot at the nape of her neck.

"This will _have _to do," she muttered, shoving everything back into her bag and stepped out of the bushes.

Her eyes was greeted by the full sight of the town-houses, shops, clothes and shoes that looked very different from what Samsara is used to. Cars-what they called the metal, honking objections. She gasped, mouth ajar and eyes widened.

_But how? _The question rung repeatedly in her mind. Then she remembered the purple cloud that ran through this town.

Magic-this town must be full of it.

Samsara's eyes lit up at the realization and she continued through the town. It's time to make some friends.


	3. 03 Maleficent's Book

**Author's Note: **The premise of this chapter has been somewhat role played on twitter. But, as it is a key event in the character's development, it will be turned into a chapter of this story. Again, twitter account this chapter fic is "documenting" is amazonianwitch (timeline in the future of this premise. Will catch up in no time).

* * *

The loud-mouth, red-headed amazon was getting on Samsara's nerves. For a woman of few words, it was quite an accomplishment to get more than a sentence out of her at a time. They had recently learned that Amarice was kicked out of her old tribe. While the reasons for that were unknown, Samsara wasn't surprised. The young amazon was reckless, stubborn, hard-headed, in over her head and shows no respect for authority. There was that tiny bit of respect that she tossed around when she first joined them, but that seemed to have gone out of the window once she got her feet sunk comfortably in their grounds.

Samsara missed Karina. Gabrielle and Ephiny helped fill the gap left inside her after she was unwillingly torn from her tribe; Xena was a good friend; and a goofy, self-proclaimed warrior named Joxer who drops by sometimes brighten up her day now and then. But it wasn't the same without Karina around. The older Amazons in her tribe knew not what to say to her and the newer ones avoided her with fear of speaking the wrong terms. Karina was the only one who knew her story and reached out, reading her closed book as though it was sprawled open shamelessly. The queen of her tribe maneuvered her like a kite; letting go and holding on with perfect timing.

"What happened here?" soon became a common question fired whenever Xena returned from her side missions. A thug here, a group of bandits there, and everything suddenly became out of control with a big dash of insanity. Samsara's visits to Storybrooke soon became the perfect escape from the Amazon Nations that she once held dear.

Storybrooke made her feel different-excitement, curiosity, fear. Each visit sealed her suspicion of the town's magic deeper in stone. The air smelled of a delicious purple and those with magic stood out like single, bright roses in a thorn bush. There was a different air around them. Perhaps it was the way they held themselves. Then there was one Maleficent. Samsara could barely remember how their first encounter went, but when she caught sight of Maleficent, the witch's hair cascaded down her shoulders in soft, golden waves; the tailored dress hugged her figure; her smile invoked a strange mix of fear and lust. And as much as it sounds like the diary of the new kid in school, Maleficent was the first resident of Storybrooke who struck up a conversation with her, and Samsara was...hooked.

She stroke fingers over the once dusty covers of the thick book and smiled at the not so distant memories that led to its retrieval.

_"You can't just _learn _magic, Samsara." the dragon witch said. _

_"I will, if you teach me." the amazon insisted, jaws squared with determination. _

_The witch's lips pursed, eyes fixated at a distant object in thought, then tilted her head at the amazon, a smile tugging at her lips. "What do you have to offer me?" _

_Samsara's mind raced to come up with something appealing enough for the experienced witch. _

_"An unwilling slave," she spat out without re-considering the possible consequences. "An amazon-strong, but feisty. You will like her-her unwillingness will prove to be wonderful entertainment." she promised, already having a subject in mind-Amarice. Loyalty was a strong value taught amongst the Amazons, but so was respect. Amarice was a lone wolf at best and their tribe wasn't really a tribe; while others might, Samsara didn't really regard Amarice as an amazon._

_"How are you going to make her agree to that?" _

_"Let _me _worry about that," Samsara smiled._

_A witch; an amazon lusting after the prospect of magic; a deal was struck._

It is to be warned that curiosity always kills the cat, no matter how cliche it is. Aligning her plans to Amarice's body clock, Samsara brushed the last arrow tip with the potion and gathered her gear, setting out just as Amarice trotted by.

_"Where are you going?" she nosed._

_"Hunting." Samsara said flatly, then loaded her bow with an arrow, aiming at air. "Someone..." she mumbled under her breath._

_A loud gasp escaped Amarice's lips-an indication that the latter word was heard._

_"Who are you hunting?"_

_Samsara turned, letting the arrow fly as soon as the aim was marked on Amarice._

_"Oops?"_

_The red headed Amazon's hand flew up to the embedded arrow in her shoulder and pulled it out._

_"Wait till I tell Xena, Gabrielle and Ephiny about this." she promised through gritted teeth._

_Samsara shrugged and mentally counted down the seconds before Amarice collapsed._

But all that was taught to Amarice was not lost, whether the feisty child was born of Amazon or not. Her tolerance to the potion was underestimated, making the journey to Maleficent's a struggle and the deal making an interesting chapter.

_"She has to stay willingly," Maleficent chimed, even after deciding that she liked Amarice enough to keep her as slave. _

_"I promised you an _unwilling _slave," Samsara countered, but the witch simply shook her head. _

_"Those are the terms-a willing slave, and I will teach you magic." _

The deal failed to go through, but Samsara only had herself to blame for not picking a less hard-headed amazon. Unfortunately, Amarice was the only Amazon in their wanna-be tribe that ticked her off enough. It was even more unfortunate that Amarice had convinced the rest that Samsara was possessed by Alti-a powerful shaman who time and time again, had seek to destroy Xena.

_"I need your help!" Samsara plead to the glow of blue light as she fled the amazon forests._

_"What can I do?" the Blue Fairy asked, her calmness grinding on Samsara's frayed nerves as she steal backward glances repeatedly to see if her pursuers had caught up. _

_"I need..." she paused but just for a moment. "Magic. I am under attack." _

_"I can't grant you permanent magical powers-no magic is strong enough to do that," she explained. "But I can give them to you temporarily." _

_Samsara nodded frantically. She was hardly a match for Xena and with Gabrielle, Ephiny and a rabid Amarice on the warrior princess' side, Samsara's fate was sealed if she were to cross swords with them. _

_"Here are three wishes, use them wisely," the Blue Fairy said, handing Samsara a navy blue pouch. "When you need them, just open it and make a wish. But remember, you only have three." _

**STORYBROOKE...**

_"Yes?" the perfect brow arched as she opened the door._

_Samsara composed herself, catching her breath as the dragon witch rolled her eyes before letting her in. The past playful flirting and fiery attitude seemed to have played in the favour of the amazon. A glass of wine, words exchanged, and it was clear that Maleficent had taken on a liking for the other woman. But the witch was convinced that there was little that could be done in granting Samsara magic, even with the help of the Blue Fairy's wishes. But determined, Samsara insisted she try, promising the incentive of a wish for Maleficent should things succeed. _

_There was no yeses or nos before Maleficent left Samsara alone, tending to other businesses. The amazon wandered around boldly, turning wine bottles and opening doors. An idea came to her suddenly, but Maleficent was still in the house. _

_Days went by until the opportunity came-Maleficent was out of town. With the house unguarded by magic, Samsara sneaked in for a browse. Then, she found it-the thick book of everything you can know about magic sitting in the bottom most drawer of Maleficent's dresser. She ran a finger down the cover; a layer of dust has already gathered. _

_"Well then she won't miss it," Samsara reasoned, tucking it under her arm. In its place, she left a note "Thank you. I will take the best care of it and return it once I've proven you wrong." _

Samsara peeled open the book gingerly; anticipation shone in her eyes, a grin spread across her lips. One wish down, two wishes to go-it was time to make some magic.


	4. 04 Rising of Goddesses

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I have to let you all know that storylines were not pre-planned. So the following did just happen to happen. xD

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"I think we should make some of the amazons goddesses," Ephiny announced to the wide-eyed Amarice, already anticipating her 'nemesis's' name to be on the list of considerations. "Members of our tribe are numbered-we need to help ourselves, we have the ambrosia left over."

"Gabrielle and Xena will not be happy about this," Amarice huffed, thinking of the first and only reason for objection she could think of. When Ephiny shoved the ambrosia into her mouth, it became her chance to be stronger than Samsara. Truth be told, she liked it. She had heard stories about the angry warrior who gets what she wants one way or another, who kills without mercy. The only conscious that whispered in her ear then was none other than her tribe leader Karina. Without the brunette by her side to stop the final blows that determines the target's fate, there was no telling what could happen to Amarice.

"I am the regent-I will explain to Gabrielle," Ephiny insisted, throwing her title forward. Amarice lowered her head and nodded begrudgingly.

The four chosen amazons were rounded up, Samsara included, a frown on her face as she stood in front of the regent.

"Our members are numbered, so are our days. We need all the help we can get."

Samsara raised an eyebrow, gazing up at her almost mirror image.

"I have chosen you four to be the goddesses in our tribe." Ephiny explained, pulling out what's left of the ambrosia from her pouch.

Samsara's face twisted into what looked to be a frown and a grimace. _Goddesses?! Who are _we _to decide _that?!

Ephiny broke the ambrosia into four equal pieces and tossed it at each of them. Samsara caught it effortlessly and looked at her, the look on her face unreadable. The regent waved a hand in motion, as though reassuring her that the red, wobbly substance was safe for consumption.

_Let's get this over and done with. It might not work at all. _

Samsara kept their gazes locked and swallowed it. An almost electrified energy surged through her, the force causing her to stumble. Concerned, the regent leaped to her side, an arm steadying her.

"Are you okay?" Ephiny's brown eyes searched hers. Frowning, Samsara nodded, regaining her balance.

Ephiny isn't her queen, this isn't her tribe, but Samsara is after all, an amazon. But she had no place in this tribe other than being a valued warrior whom others may see to as have chummy-upped with the warrior princess, amazon queen and the regent.

"I'm fine," she said firmly as she freed herself from Ephiny's arms. _Manners._ She reminded herself, the voice within sounding eerily like Karina's. She stopped, turning to throw a smile at Ephiny. "Thanks."

...

Summoning, they call it; popping in and out of places, almost like what some may call teleportation. It also came with the perks of morphing into a wolf at will and powers to manipulate the things around them. Something was off to Samsara-these abilities were unlike those of goddesses she's heard. Ephiny had dubbed her the goddess of moon and hunt-the latter she understood, but confusion still drew at the previous.

No. Samsara had a plan and it did not involve being a goddess. She didn't _need _nor _want _to be one. Some see this as an honour, an 'ability' to rise to power, wipe out enemies quicker and all that fancy dainty. But Samsara believed in working for something; she plays by rules and loves a challenge. This 'gift' contained neither, nor did she work for and deserve it. At multiple requests to give the transformation to the canine a try, she turned them down. She is an amazon, not a cannibal-she will never succumb to killing her enemies by tearing them apart with teeth.

Maleficent's book still sat in her hut, shield from prying eyes; and Samsara seemed to have mastered basics of telekinetic and deflective abilities. Each use of them thrilled her; from both the success of picking up a new skill, and the success of proving the dragon witch wrong. The book contained many wonders, many knowledge to absorb that will be more valuable than knowing how to snap a finger and get what one wants.

_Gabrielle would understand that. _She frowned slightly at the thought, almost unbelieving that she might have grown attached to the tribe and its key members, and perhaps even the quirkiness of Storybrooke. She has to move on from both places, soon. That constant reminder kept her on track of her goal-she had learned that the only thing one would get from becoming attached is hurt.

"Sam!" the regent's voice rang through the air. She rolled her eyes. For some reason, the 'twin', as the other amazons call them (needless to say, she was the nasty one), didn't find the need to address her with her whole name. Samsara stood up, arming herself with weapons of choice. She recognized that tone-it was time for battle. She couldn't remember the last time there wasn't some group of morons trying to wipe them out. Ephiny had made the right decisions with her grant of god-hood, but while it preserved more lives and help eliminate more members of their seemingly increasing enemies, it hadn't seem to scare off intruders and attackers.

"Coming!" She sighed, exiting her hut with a slow jog. The only thing good thing that came from Samsara being appointed a goddess by the regent is immortality-she now has all the time in the world to execute her plans.


End file.
